


A Father's Love

by casey_sms (shinygreenwords), shinygreenwords



Category: The Social Network
Genre: Angst, Coming Out, Community: tsn_kinkmeme, Daddy Issues, Drama, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Minor Violence, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-02
Updated: 2011-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-15 07:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/158702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinygreenwords/pseuds/casey_sms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinygreenwords/pseuds/shinygreenwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Eduardo's father showed he really loved him, and one time that he told him - with a side helping of Eduardo/Mark in one of the five things. For <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/1522.html?thread=1892594#t1892594">this prompt</a> in the <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/"><b>tsn_kinkmeme</b></a>. It's huge side-helping. Also fix-it fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Father's Love

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory cliché angst title. I took some stuff from Eduardo's [Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin) but mostly made this up. There is one really good [article](%E2%80%9Chttp://tecnologia.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/redacao/2010/10/22/conheca-quem-e-eduardo-saverin-o-brasileiro-que-ajudou-a-fundar-o-facebook.jhtm%E2%80%9D) on him in Portuguese. I Google translated it and it comes up with some really interesting stuff that I didn’t know – including his parents names and how he might have moved to America because he was on a list of abductees??? Tell me you didn't think of prompting that. Or how his um character's whole life is a huge angst prompt and I mean this in the least creepiest way possible.
> 
> AN: Revised on 4th Feb.

1.  
The baby came as a surprise. The Saverins had all their children early on in their marriage and they thought they were done. Five was a good number, three daughters, two sons. The family home was mostly empty with their last child sent to a prestigious boarding school. Even with the scholarship, Mr Saverin worked hard to ensure that his child would have an excellent education. Having worked as an industrialist in export, clothing, shipping and a real estate agent – the one thing he has learnt is that there are no guarantees in life.

“What are we doing to do?”

“We’ll make it work,” Mr Saverin says, wrapping his arms around his wife and holding the life that is there. He’ll put in more hours. He’ll sell one of the shops if he has to. He has a plan, some contacts in America. He’ll make it work.

(When the baby comes, he names him “Eduardo” to mean “wealthy guard”. He is determined to stay optimistic. He refuses to believe that Eduardo is an accident. He says his name softly and Eduardo grabs hold of his finger with a tiny hand. He has never doubted that Eduardo is a gift.)

2.  
Eduardo has lots of friends in high school. He is glad that his son has no trouble fitting in. When Eduardo asks for the car keys so he could go to a party, his third one in the week, he says yes even though he knows his wife would rather have him home.

He worries for Eduardo’s grades, the types of friends he has but he knows he can’t suffocate his son. Just like when he was a little child, Eduardo insisted on walking without assistance and not letting anyone pick him up when he fell over. He has to let his son learn on his own. If he stays up at night until Eduardo stumbles through the front door, only his wife knows.

3.  
Eduardo spits out, “You’re never satisfied. You just can’t stand the fact that you failed at life and now you have a failure for a son.”

He didn’t mean to. It’s wasn’t the first part. It’s the second part. It hurts to have his mistakes pointed out to him. He has never meant for his son to feel his disappointment in himself.

Eduardo is holding his hand to his cheek, his eyes huge and his lip trembling.

“I’m sorry, son,” he says. And he really is. He has never felt like he failed his son so much. “Come here.”

Eduardo moves slowly, his head down, dragging his feet. He can’t blame him.

When he hugs him, Eduardo stiffens and then melts in the embrace. There is something he should say but there’s a lump in his throat. He squeezes Eduardo tightly and hopes he understands. If he cries a little too, neither of them mentions it.

4.  
Eduardo is rarely hesitant. This is how he knows that it’s something important.

“Father, I want you to meet someone.” Though Eduardo sounds nervous, he can’t quite hide the smile on his face.

There is a curly haired boy bouncing nervously on his heels next his son.

It’s hard. This is not what he wants for his son. But his son is so happy and he’s home.

“Mr Saverin, I’m Mark Zuckerberg. I share a dorm with your son.”

“Call me Robert,” he says and shakes Mark’s hand. Mark has a firm grip.

(He has an urge to threaten the boy like he did for his daughters but he figured Eduardo would be embarrassed. He makes an effort to be nice and he gives Mark an open invitation to his house. Eduardo’s smile is blinding. It’s worth it.)

5.  
He won’t look at his son. He can’t stand to see the heartbreak there. He recognizes it and he knows it. It makes him feel helpless.

He hates the boy who did this to his son. He hates himself for not forbidding it. Maybe he could have saved Eduardo from this. He knows it probably wouldn’t have worked but he would prefer anything than to see Eduardo like this. Eduardo’s posture is perfect and he is composed even though he knows that his son is hurting. His son has grown up to be a fine man. He wishes there is more he could say to comfort him but there is nothing he can do. When he looks up, Eduardo has already left.

+1

The day after the deposition he gets a call. He has been keeping tabs on the case discreetly. He has wanted to call but he thinks Eduardo would probably appreciate the distance. He knows his wife has called and he overheard Eduardo saying that he doesn’t want to talk to him and doesn’t have anything to say to him. It’s not fair but there isn’t anything he can say to make it better so he respects his son and keeps his distance.

Eduardo’s voice is rough. It could be exhaustion but he knows his son has been crying.

“I settled. He will give me a 5% share and recognition for my part in founding the company in return for my silence. I hope you’re happy, pai.”

“Eduardo,” he says with a heavy sigh. “I’m not, filho. Far from it.”

“Nothing will make you ever make you happy. You-”

“Listen. Please. Eu sinto muito. I should have said this sooner. You deserved better from me. You do deserve better. I know it was hard for you and I shouldn’t have made things harder.”

“I’m fine,” Eduardo says flatly. “I can handle it.”

“You are handling it yes but you’re not fine and I would be surprised if you were. If you love that boy as much as I think you did- He broke your heart.”

“That’s not true,” Eduardo says weakly. “It was just a bad deal.” His voice cracks a little.

He is finally able to say what he should have said a long time ago. He thought all his children understood but Eduardo practically grew up an only child and he’s always been sensitive. He was stubborn but sensitive and he should have told him. “Forgive me for not saying it sooner. I love you and I’m proud of you. I just want you to be happy.”

Eduardo makes a sound suspiciously like a sniff.

“I want to hurt him for what he did to you.”

“Father-”

“Let me finish. But I know you care for him and if he is what you want then the money and the recognition is nothing. Go for what you want. He is a fool for losing you once. He would be a greater fool than I give him credit for if he makes the same mistake again.”

He can hear Eduardo inhale sharply and he wonders if he got it wrong.

“Obrigado, pai,” Eduardo says in a thick voice. “Love you.”

“I love you too, filho.”

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I know: pai = father, filho = son, Eu sinto muito = I’m so sorry (like the serious version according to answers.com), obrigado = thank you. So this also turned into fix-it fic \o/


End file.
